The Day
by GrayNotes14
Summary: "Her eyes widened and she whipped her head around to find the one person she least expected to see. Or maybe it was who she most expected, but couldn't ever muster up enough courage to say so." Ally is preparing to walk down the aisle, when someone shows up to give her a reality check.
1. Chapter 1

"You look beautiful, Ally. Like your mother on our wedding day," Lester Dawson whispered to his only daughter. She could see the tears in his eyes as he said goodbye to his only daughter.

He kissed her on the cheek and gave her a long hug- not easy to do with the yards of white lace engulfing her.

"Thanks, daddy. Do mind if I have a moment?"

Lester nodded and quietly left the room. Ally waited until she could no longer hear his retreating footsteps, and then walked over to the window in the small room. Looking out, down below to the patio where the ceremony was to be, she could hear the laughter of various guests, most of whom she didn't know the name of. She saw the archway of white roses she would make her grand entrance under.

She hated white roses.

She preferred yellow ones. They reminded her of the Miami sunsets.

They reminded her of _Him_.

Outside, the storm clouds began to gather. '_I guess that fits the occasion,'_ She thought.

It was almost time to go downstairs and walk down the aisle, and to be honest, she dreaded it. Ally thought she was in love, but after many arguments, she came to the conclusion that her fiancé was only marrying her out of pity. But a deal was a deal, and so ready or not, the time had arrived for her to walk down the aisle, say her vows, and make small talk with her soon-to-be brother-and-sister-in-laws.

She always thought this day would be so different. She thought it would be filled with _her_ best friends, _her_ roses, and_ her_ Him.

But no. He left. And He wasn't coming back. He didn't love her anymore.

"I'm sure He would say differently."

Her eyes widened and she whipped her head around to find the one person she least expected to see. Or maybe it was who she most expected, but couldn't ever muster up enough courage to say so.

_Had she said that last part out loud?_

"You said the whole thing out loud, actually."

She quickly and not so gracefully sprinted to the door and closed it before anyone saw who she was talking to. Once she had closed and locked it, she took a second to look him over; her ex, Austin, had arrived-dressed for the occasion-in a black suit and yellow tie. His hair was casually tousled and he wore yellow converse to match his tie.

"What. Are. You. Doing?" she threw at him, holding his gaze.

"I actually came by to see your oh-so-dreamy fiancé. Fancy that I'd run into you before seeing him." He smirked.

Her gaze faltered for a second, as she realized he wasn't here for her, and she was about to still go get married.

"Oh." She mumbled.

His face softened. Austin walked over to her and she felt his warm breath making the loose hairs on her head tickle her face. Ever so slowly he began to lean in.

His breath got heavier, her heart beat faster, and the air got thicker.

"Ally, tell me if you want me to stop…"

"i..i..can't do this." She breathily whispered. All at once, she ripped her heels off, picked up the train of the white gown and broke into a sprint out the door and down the 2 flights of stairs.

He stood too stunned to move, and then with a jolt of urgency followed her out the door, shouting her name. She was already down the stairs and out onto the semi-crowded street, but he soon caught up with her, as the large white dress made it harder to navigate the streets of the city.

"Ally, wait!" he yelled to her.

She whipped her head around, still running, and locked eyes with him. She slowed to a jog, and he ran up to her, panting but ready for an explanation.

"Austin, I…don't know what's happening anymore! First, I fell in love with you, and then you left. Dallas was there to pick up the estranged pieces and I crawled to him for comfort. Then, I thought I loved him, but realized all he felt was pity. You showed back up, ON MY WEDDING DAY,I might add, trying to kiss me, and then chased me down a street and I am just so confused, and I don't know what to do or where to go and now everybody will be mad at me and I've ruined the whole plan and-"

"Where do you want to go? Where would you feel safe?"

"I told you, I don't know. Everyone is waiting for me and I've run, for so long, I've run away, but I just can't go back…"

"Where would you feel _safe_?"

She paused for a moment, letting what he had said sink in. Where _did_ she feel safe? In his arms, not that she would tell him that.

"I'll just…I don't know.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: super special awesome points/kudos/imaginary parties to everyone who reviewed on the first chapter! Ya'll push me to update sooner the more you review/favorite/follow! Thanks everyone!**

**Disclaimer: no, I don't own Austin&Ally, or any songs listed or references or whatever else I used in this…**

Once he had achieved calming Ally down, she decided that she wanted to go home:

"Well…that's fine, but, they'll come looking for you there. I mean, if that's what you want then," he had begun to reason with her.

"No, not my apartment. _Home_. I want to go back to Miami, to Sonic Boom, and to the mall park. I'd feel safe there," she assured him.

He slowly nodded his head, and then led her to his car. They drove on for hours, not saying a word. He would glance at her now and then, catching her drifting off to sleep, smiling to herself, or gazing expectantly out the window. One time, when he peeked over at her, he saw a single tear rolling down her cheek. He opened his mouth to console her, but thought better of it and instead reached over and placed his hand on top of hers, enveloping it. She said nothing, just wiped the tear away and continued to look out the window.

As they got closer, Austin offered to stop at her house to get her some clothes, and she nodded her head silently. Once she had ditched the dress for more comfortable attire, she got back in the car and simply sat there. As if she was afraid to startle him, she spoke in the quietest voice,

"The park."

He merely nodded and turned the car key, the engine coming alive; they coasted through the silent streets. He parked near the edge of the grass, where the soft rolling hills were cloaked with clover, and walked to the other side of the car, opening her door. She whispered a small thank you, and he unlocked the trunk, taking out a blanket he had kept in the back.

She daintily padded over to the small pond near a large willow tree. The sun was beginning to rise, and soft yellowy orange glow reflected onto the water. Austin followed behind her, bringing the blanket with him_. _

_Whoosh_.

He shook out the large, old quilt and spread it out on the ground, being careful so it didn't fold up into itself. He loosed the tie around his neck, and rolled up his sleeves. He started to sit down, but noticing Ally still standing, decided to instead shuffle over to her. The shorter of the two wrapped her sweater around her small frame, trying to block out the shivers of tiredness, the chilly morning, and overall realization of the situation that consumed her. Austin took note of the futile attempts and side stepped to her back to wrap his strong arms around hers. The two stood like this for a while, until he grasped her cold hand and led her to the quilt. She then proceeded to lie down on the edge of it, and peered up into the branches of the willow tree. He followed her actions and mirrored them, the two lying side by side on the old blanket.

It was a picturesque moment: the brightening dawn, soft rippled waters in the small pond, tree branches ever so gently swaying.

"I wonder why she weeps," Murmured the girl.

"Pardon?" he replied.

"The willow. I wonder why she is weeping."

"Maybe she has lost something," He suggested.

"Perhaps. Maybe she started out strong, branches steadfast in the ground. Maybe she reached for the sun and danced beneath the moonlight. Maybe she fell in love with the moon, but soon he left and the sun came out. Maybe she desperately reached too far for the sun and ended up getting burned. So here she stands, weeping in her boughs to anyone who will understand."

Austin nodded, not understanding what she was referring to, but figuring it was just a songwriter's kind of poetry.

By then the sun was peeking over the horizon and he became conscious of how incredibly exhausted he was. He yawned and looked over at Ally, attempting to hint that they should head back. She reluctantly nodded in agreement; they folded the blanket and climbed into Austin's car.

As soon as he started the car, she turned on the radio softly and began to hum along with Mumford & Sons 'I Will Wait'.

Once he pulled into the driveway, she hopped out and trotted to the front door of her old house, unlocked the door, and with a swift wave stepped inside. He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, and made the trip back to his own small house. Pulling into the driveway, he sat for a moment letting the last 24 hours' events run through his mind. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breathe.

'_It worked._' He thought to himself, '_she came back. I got her back_.'

Austin briskly walked into his house, and jumped into the shower, washing away the staleness of previous exploits. He changed into sweatpants, sauntered over to his bed, and dropped onto it face-first, falling into a deep sleep.

She however was having difficulties. When he dropped her off, she jumped into the shower as well, and let the warm water cascade down her back. Every stream of water that flowed off of her shoulders felt like a weight being cast aside, though her stomach still sat in unrest.

In an effort to forget the day's happenings, she got out of the shower and into her bed, trying to fall asleep. As she lay there, his voice replayed in her head, and she was finding it harder and harder to breathe.

"_Where do you want to go? Where would you feel safe?"_

At last the stuffiness overtook her and she got up and walked onto the small porch outside her bedroom window. Her shower and sleeping attempts had taken a while, and it was about noon. A famished feeling washed over her and she realized she hadn't eaten since the meager breakfast she had before…the wedding.

She trekked downstairs and made herself a sandwich, sat down at the table, and ate in the still house. Her stomach still churned, and she knew that until she confronted him about things, it was only going to get worse. With resolve set in her mind, she threw on jeans and a tee, slipped on flip flops, and marched out the door.

**A/N: OOHH! What is she confronting Austin about? What's plaguing her so bad? This chapter took me about 5 hours to write, and I wasn't totally happy with how it turned out, but… PHEW! With special requests I have tried to make the chapters longer, and update them as soon as I can! Thank you so much for all of the reviews/follows/favorites! I feel so loved **

**Chapter 3 might not be up until the end of the weekend, because I have a whole bunch of school projects to do, and I'm going to an R5 concert! So, just be patient and know that I will indeed be back soon!**

**-Gray**


	3. The Concert

**Please put down the pitch forks and torches. I'm so sorry! I will absolutely update for real soon (although some plot ideas would help a lot :)**

OH MY FRIKIN GOSH! Words cannot describe that concert! It was absolutely am-az-ing!

So, right after school, my best friend and I ran to the locker room, got changed super quick and then jumped into the car. My dad drove us to Nashville (about 2 hours away) and we stood in line outside for like 45 minutes. It was sooo cold (48 degrees I think) and as we were waiting to go in, RYLAND CAME OUTSIDE and was helping with equipment set up! My friend and I jumped up and down and he totally didn't even look over at us, but I understand. He was pushing this big cart up the hill, then he started riding it like a shopping cart-needless to say, it was adorable and cute and everything else. He is FOXXXYYY!

Once we made it to the door, they let us in and we got our wrist bands, we stopped by the bathrooms, and then pushed our way kinda to the front. 3 people performed before them-Alex Aiono, Taylor Mathews, and Sunderland. Let me tell you, Sunderland was the best!

So after those painstaking, grueling waiting moments (not really moments, more like an hour and a half, and they weren't THAT painstaking either, but whatever) R5 finally came on stage, kicking everything off with Falling For You. I thought I was going to pass out and cry at the same time the moment they ran out-so many feels!

They were perfect and amazing!-I don't know why I was surprised, but they sound so good live!

I was standing in the crowd in front of/between Ross and Rocky. And I don't want to be that girl who thought Ross looked at me, but he totally did. Like 10 times. And during a lot of the songs, he would hold my gaze as I sang every word! Okay so maybe I AM being that girl, but it honestly happened, and I am amazed at how stinkin beautiful they are! Rocky let the front row people touch his hair-lolzz I am amazed they didn't rip it all out- and I am 98% sure he looked at me too.

Some highlights:

-Ross got the words wrong on A Billion Hits :)

-At one point, Rocky said "Okay, I have a job for all of you! When we say 'JUMP' I want you to jump. Okay?" then, during Shut Up and Let Me Go, they would all yell "JUMP" and it was a giant wave of everyone jumping-super awesome!

-Ratliff and Rocky rapped a Thrift Shop mashup. And one thing surprised me: they actually said *please pardon the language here* "hell no!" during it, and I was caught off guard. I mean, I know they are all grown up and it's the song lyrics, but I was still like 'whoa. They just said that' Although, Ratliff held the mic out to the crowd on the chorus, and we all sang "THIS IS *silence* AWESOME!" and it was hilarious how nobody cursed or even said anything!

-They were about to perform Not a Love Song, and Ratliff said "so, theres this show, tell me if you've heard of it by a show of hands-and screams. Wha-what is it called again? Uhmmm…"

Rydel: "uh, Dez and Trish?"

Ratliff: "no…Auslly and…"

And everyone was screaming Austin&Ally like maniacs. And I 'awwed' cause he mentioned Auslly :)

-Near the end, I got to touch Ross' hand! He reached out and I practically lunged at it, grabbed onto it, and held it for like 3 seconds! It was really strong and sweaty…JUST LIKE I IMAGINED IT WOULD BE!

Then I touched Rocky's hand for about 0.6 seconds when he reached out!

-After it was all over, my friend and I walked over to the merch table and I shouted "RYLAND, RYLAND!" and he turned to us. Then my friend was like "can I have a hug?" and he walked over, leaned across the table and gave her a hug. Now, I kind of figured he would give me one too, since I was right there and I reached out to hug him too, but he started to walk away after he hugged her and so I grabbed his sleeve and held onto it as he walked away. But he never turned around again. So I was rejected by Ryland. Ouch. ;)

It was the most fun everrrr though and I'm hoping to be able to go to another concert in the near future! Right now, my friend and I have concert hangovers. It's pretty bad-we miss them so much! It doesn't really make sense, but I really miss them. Their presence made my whole world go vividly colorful, and now it's back to black and white. And youtube. But my perspective has changed on all of their videos because I know what they look like in real life…it's a really cool experience!

So, again I'm so sorry about not having another real chapter up, but I promise sometime in the next couple days I will have one!


	4. Chapter 3

**I FINALLY came up with the rest of this story during lunch today (with the help of my best friend, Becky. Thanks boo :)) and the only thing I had to write on was a napkin. So I did. How poetic is that!? And then we fangirled until all our other friends began to turn their heads in a –failed- attempt to act like they didn't know us. Anyhoo please forgive me, I have had no idea where to go with this next, but now I have a basic road map of what is going to happen. SUGGESTIONS STILL WELCOME! Now, back to the regularly scheduled programming:**

The sun was peaking out from behind a shade of clouds as Ally strutted down the street, eager to get to Austin's house to confront him. As she walked down the block, she scanned her surroundings. She remembered all the times she had walked this exact path, late at night, early in the morning, or in the middle of the day for emergency song writing sessions or just "Austin&Ally" time. The familiar trees, cracks in the pavement, particular yards with time-consuming landscaping all jogged her memory of the life she had before: when she and Austin had been together. Her steps slowed as all the memories rushed to her at once.

Her senior year of Marino High she secretly reapplied to MUNY, and they accepted her application. She knew it would break Austin's heart for her to leave, as Team Austin had agreed to all stay around and attend the community college down the road, but it would break her heart even more to not go after her dreams. Which, in the end, would break his heart too when he found out just how much her dream had been ruined. So, the day after graduation, she left, telling no one, without even a goodbye. Ally knew Trish and Dez would forgive her-Trish being her best friend and Dez being his happy-go-lucky self-but she wasn't so sure about Austin.

When she arrived to New York, she immediately started her classes. Everyday she would go back to her small off-campus apartment, hoping he would be there with a bouquet of roses, begging her to come back. But he never came. And it broke her.

One day, at a Starbucks, she ran into a familiar face: Dallas. Turned out all those hours working at the library paid off-he was at MUNY for a degree in journalism**. (A/N I have no idea if that's even a degree at MUNY, but let's all just pretend for the moment that it is) **They began to talk about life, and she let him in on all the hopeless news about her past relationship and dumped all her unrelenting feelings for Austin on him. He took her out of pity and eventually asked her to be his girlfriend. She didn't ever feel the same spark with him, but knew that she had to move on. She plastered a smile on her face and lied about being over Austin.

Senior year, she was walking across the courtyard, when she thought she saw a familiar head of platinum hair. Right as she was about to call out to him, Dallas came up behind her with a single red rose and a velvet box. He got down on one knee and proposed to her. She forced herself to tear her eyes from her long-lost tragedy partner, and listen to Dallas blabber on about how he decided to devote himself to her and couldn't bear to be without her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. As soon as she accepted, he embraced her and began to spin her in circles. She locked eyes with the blonde figure as she twirled. Her eyes widened as she confirmed who it was. _Austin_.

Time seemed to slow and in the millisecond their eyes connected, she sensed his emptiness, her rejection, his realization at what had happened in the four years they had been apart. With a curt nod of comprehensive awareness he was gone, and she was left wondering how long he had been looking for her. But by then it was too late and she was promised to another.

They had decided to have the wedding in the Spring in South Carolina where most of his relatives lived.

She was less than excited, but acted as a proper bride-to-be would. She reluctantly sent out invitations, sneaking one extra to Austin. Although she figured he wouldn't come, she would never have any kind of closure if she never even let him know when it was. Austin never responded, and so Ally concluded that he hated her and never wanted to see her face again. This tore her up inside, but she hid it and forcedly put on her mask of concealment until her wedding day, when she broke down in the upper room, gazing down on her wedding scene and all the things she hated.

But he came back.

And she didn't know why.

But she was about to find out.

Turning the corner onto his street, she quickened her pace again with resolve to once and for all figure out their torn relationship. She easily climbed the brick stair up to his front door, and with every ounce of courage left in her, she squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep breath, and rang the doorbell.

For about 15 seconds she heard nothing, but then a series of crashes and thumps came and the door swung open. Austin stood in front of her, sweatpants and tee shirt, hair matted to the side, and half lidded eyes. When he recognized who it was, he began to frantically fix himself, combing his hair with his fingers and rubbing his eyes.

"Oh, Ally… I didn't know you were coming over…I should have prepa-" he awkwardly began, but she cut him off.

"Why did you care?"

"-well, I, uhhh… what?"

A new tone of urgency hit her voice. "Earlier, when you asked me where I wanted to go. You didn't ask where I _should_ go, or _tell_ me to go back, you asked where I would feel safe. Why did you care so much about where I felt safe?!"

He lowered his eyes to the ground.

"Well, you see, I never…stopped…caring."

"No! You should hate me! I thought you hated me! I never said goodbye! I never wrote or called! I never checked in! But you…you never wrote. Or called. You never came after me. I thought you detested even the thought of me. Which you should have. But. You. Don't. And I am tired of guessing! I want to know why!" she shouted.

"Actually, I did write. But I never sent the letters." He confirmed sheepishly.

"Then why didn't you come? That's all I ever wanted: for someone to care enough to come and chase me down to the ends of the earth. Not because someone told them to, or it was the right thing, but just simply because they loved me."

Austin took a step closer, and began to confess everything he'd been wanting to say.

"Ally! Can you not see what is right in front of you? I did come. You were about to throw your life away with some idiot who doesn't even appreciate you! You left without saying goodbye and didn't tell anyone where you ran off to! I thought you hated me! It took me 4 years to find you. And at first I thought it was too late, but I didn't accept that. I couldn't stand the reality of you with another man, so I ran after you. Not because someone told me to, not because I thought it was exactly civilized, but because I love you! Okay, I love you. I…I, I do. With all of my heart."

At his words, she fell silent. The only thing to be heard was his heavy breathing after the long tirade. She looked into his eyes, which were intently imploring hers, trying to read her emotions and look for an answer.

"Oh." She finally whispered. "That's why."

**A/N: OKKAY that was painful. (for me, hopefully not for you…) I need some serious suggestions here on what the heck they're going to do about Dallas. Any comments from the peanut gallery? Real talk, though: please leave any ideas for me! I am more than open to them and even if I don't use the exact idea, I will definitely give shoutouts. Also! I was thinking about doing a whole 'nother one shot on the scene where she sees him at the campus because it was kind of rushed here, but I'm not sure if anyone would read it. VOTE yes/no in the comments! thanks to everyone!**

**-Gray**


	5. The Break

Hello everyone…*sheepish grin*.

First off, big huge thanks to all of you incredible readers! Y'all inspire me so much and it means the world to me. I am able to see stats of how many readers are from each country, and there are viewers from Australia, France, Belgium, Canada, Jamaica, Thailand, Norway, Trinidad and Tobago, the UK, and so many more! So to everyone out there: **hi!** I was so shocked how supportive you all are and it has blessed me so much to have such loyal readers.

Secondly, I AM SO SORRY. I suck. I haven't updated in a month. No, I haven't forgotten about it, and I'm not quitting, but I need some time off and I hope you understand. You all are so loyal and I look forward to when I will get back on track with writing. This 'chapter' will be removed and replaced with a real one in the future when it is uploaded, but i thought every one of you deserved an explanation.

For real though, I was pessimistic about my writing before I posted it on here, and already throughout the chapters, I think it has grown from when it began-_ thanks to YOU!_ :)

I love each one of your beautiful selves!

- **_Gray_**


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